Method of producing tires having decorative sidewalls

ABSTRACT

A method of producing a tire having on each sidewall thereof a band or bands of fluorescent colors which will not be detached from the tire body and remain fresh over a prolonged period of time and which are effective in decorating the tire particularly in the nighttime, said method comprising constructing the tire body with an outer rubber layer and an inner rubber layer having a color-developing effect and bonded integrally to said outer rubber layer, grinding each sidewall of the tire body by a grinder to form therein an annular groove or grooves and forming in said annular groove or grooves a laminate of an elastic undercoating layer of transparent anchoring agent and a fluorescent layer containing an ultraviolet ray-absorbing compound or a laminate of said undercoating layer, a fluorescent layer and a transparent top-coating layer containing the ultraviolet ray-absorbing compound.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Hirokazu Kubota Kobe, Japan [21] Appl. No. 689,903 [22] Filed Dec. 12, 1967 [45] Patented Sept. 21, 1971 [73] Assignee Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Osaka, Japan [32] Priority May 17, 1967, May 17, 1967, May 30, 1967, May 30, 1967 [33] Japan [31] 42/31811, 42/31812, 42/351148 and [54] METHOD OF PRODUCING TIRES HAVING DECORATIVE SIDEWALLS 2 Claims, 13 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S.Cl 156/116 [51 Int. Cl ..B29h 17/04, 82% 21/02 [50] Field of Search 156/116; 152/353; 157/13 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,821,487 1/1958 Hummel 156/116 3,253,634 5/1966 De Young 156/353 Primary Examiner-Benjamin A. Borchelt Assistant Examiner-Stephen C. Bentley Attorney-Stevens, Davis, Miller & Mosher ABSTRACT: A method of producing a tire having on each sidewall thereofa band or bands of fluorescent colors which will not be detached from the tire body and remain fresh over a prolonged period of time and which are effective in decorating the tire particularly in the nighttime, said method comprising constructing the tire body with an outer rubber layer and an inner rubber layer having a colordeveloping effect and bonded integrally to said outer rubber layer, grinding each sidewall of the tire body by a grinder to form therein an annular groove or grooves and forming in said annular groove or grooves a laminate of an elastic undercoating layer of transparent anchoring agent and a fluorescent layer containing an ultraviolet ray-absorbing compound or a laminate of said undercoating layer, a fluorescent layer and a transparent topcoating layer containing the ultraviolet ray-absorbing com pound.

INVENTOR H/Rmr/azu mam ATTORNEYS PATENTED SW2 1971 SHEET 10F 2 METHOD OF PRODUCING TIRES HAVING DECORATIVE SIDEWALLS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to tires for automobiles and bicycles, and more particularly relates to a method of producing a tire having on the exterior surface, particularly on the sidewalls, thereof a band or bands of fluorescent colors effective in decorating the tire even in the nighttime.

2. Description of the Prior Art In the past, there have been used tires which have a rubber paint or paints coated on the entire or a part of the sidewalls thereof for the purpose of improving the appearance or improving the weather resistance of the tires, or tires which are provided on each sidewall thereof with a band or bands, or a pattern or patterns, or optional colors for the purpose described, which are formed by a method comprising constructing the sidewall portions of the tires with a plurality of layers of different colors, forming on each sidewall an annular projection or projections by means of a mold and grinding said annular projection or projections to expose the inner layers of different colors. However, the tires of the former type has the drawback that they were not durable for a long period of service because of the insufficient bonding strength between the paint and the tire body, whereas the tires of the latter type had the drawback that the production thereof involved difficult processes, making it impossible to produce more than two bands or patterns on one sidewall, and furthermore the colors obtained were not sufficiently fresh due to the action of sulfur which was used in the tire body as a vulcanizer.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a tire having on the exterior surface and particularly on the sidewalls thereof a fluorescent color band or bands which will not be readily detached therefrom, said color band or bands being formed by grinding the sidewall of the tire body to form an annular groove or grooves and filling said annular groove or grooves with a fluorescent paint.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a tire having a plurality of fluorescent color bands of different colors by a simple method.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a tire having a fluorescent color band or bands which will withstand the flexion of the tire body during running and therefore will not be detached readily from the tire body, and which will remain fresh over a lengthy period of time without being subjected to the adverse affect of the compounds, particularly the vulcanizing agent, contained in the rubber material of the tire, said color band or bands being formed by a method comprising construction the tire body with an abrasion-resistant outer rubber layer and inner rubber layer containing a color-developing compound, grinding the exterior surface of the tire body to form a single or a plurality of annular grooves having the inner rubber layer exposed at the bottom thereof and forming in said annular groove or grooves a laminate of an undercoating layer of a transparent graft polymer based on chloroprene and a top-coating layer of a fluorescent paint.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a tire having a fluorescent color band or bands invulnerable to ultraviolet rays, said color band or bands being formed by mixing an ultravioletray-absorbing compound in the fluorescent paint layer or by superposing a top-coating layer containing the ultraviolet-ray-absorbing compound on top of said fluorescent paint layer in practicing the method described in the preceding paragraph.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a cross section of a bicycle tire on each sidewall of which a single fluorescent color band is to be formed;

FIG. 2 is a cross section of the tire having an annular groove formed on each sidewall thereof for receiving a fluorescent paint therein;

FIG. 3 is a cross section of the tire shown in FIG. 2 with a fluorescent paint layer formed in said respective grooves;

FIG. 4 is a cross section, in enlargement, of the annular groove having the fluorescent paint layer formed therein;

FIG. 5 is a cross section of a tire on each side of which a plurality, of fluorescent color bands are to be formed;

FIG. 6 is a cross section, in enlargement, showing that portion of the sidewall on which a plurality of fluorescent color bands are to be formed and a grinder to be used for the grinding of said portion;

FIG. 7 is a cross section, in enlargement, of the portion of the side wall shown in FIG. 6 with a plurality of grooves formed therein;

FIG. 8 is a cross section, in enlargement, of the annular grooves shown in FIG. 7 each having a fluorescent paint layer formed therein;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary cross section showing the essential portion of another form of the grinder shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 10 is a side elevation, partly broken away, of a device for the injection of a fluorescent paint or paints in the annular groove grooves in the sidewall of the tire;

FIG. 11 is a plan view of the device shown in FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a cross section of a tire in each sidewall of which a single fluorescent color band is to be formed by another method; and

FIG. 13 is a cross section of the tire shown in FIG. 12 having the annular groove formed in each sidewall thereof;

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First of all, a method by which a single fluorescent color band is formed on each sidewall of a tire will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.

Planary rubber sheets for constructing a tire body are produced by calendar rolls and two of such rubber sheets are laminated by a calender rolls and two of such rubber sheets are laminated by a doubling calendar to form a unit tire body. In this case, that one of the rubber sheets which will be located interior of the product tire is produced in a whitish color by mixing in the material rubber composition therefor titanium dioxide, zinc oxide or zinc sulfide, so as to impart to said rubber sheet constituting the inner layer of the tire a colordeveloping function beforehand. The material rubber composition for the formation of the color-developing inner layer of the tire should be composed of a nondiscoloring vulcanizing agent and an antioxidant, and it is particularly important that the amount of sulfur to be added as a vulcanizer should be limited to 1.5 to 1.75 parts by weight so as not to impair the freshness of a fluorescent paint layer to be formed thereon later.

As a preferred example, the material rubber composition for the formation of the color-developing inner layer of the tire is composed of parts of natural rubber, 60 parts of titanium dioxide, 10 parts of zinc oxide, 50 parts of calcium carbonate as a filler, 1.75 parts of sulfur, 3 parts of stearic acid, 0.8 part of dibenzothiazyl disulfide as an accelerator, 1.5 parts of 2,5-di-tert.-butylhydroquinone and 0.02 part of a blue pigment. The color-developing layer plays a highly important role in promoting the luminous effect of the fluorescent layer, producing a suitable roughness on the surface thereof exposed by grinding by a grinder and promoting the anchoring effect of the undercoating layer, acting as an anchor layer, so as to improve the bond between the exposed surface of the inner layer and the paint layer to be formed thereon.

The laminate of the rubber sheets is molded into the shape of a tire and thereafter placed in a vulcanizing metal mold which is formed in the interior wall thereof with opposed annular grooves. Upon completion of the vulcanization, a tire is produced with an annular projection formed on each sidewall thereof as shown in FIG. 1. As seen, the tire body 1 thus produced comprises a black-colored outer rubber layer 3 having a tread 2 formed thereon and a whitish-colored inner rubber layer 4 serving as a color-developing layer, said outer and inner rubber layers being fastly bonded to each other into an integral piece. in the Figure, reference numeral 5 designates bead wires and 6 designates annular projections formed on the respective sidewalls of the tire body 1. Alternatively, the tire body 1 may be constructed with more than two rubber layers. The inner rubber layer 4 usually have a carcase embedded in the innermost side thereof, which constitutes the core of the tire.

The annular projection 6, formed on each sidewall of the tire body, is ground by a grinder 7 consisting of a grind stone of the order of G.C. No. 60, by applying said grinder to the central portion of said projection, in such a manner that the interior portion of said annular projection 6 is ground off completely to form an annular groove 10 defined by concentric annular collars 8 and 9 as shown in H0. 2. The operation of forming the annular groove 10 is preferably carried out by securely mounting the tire body 1 on a suitable annular support and rotating said annular support with the grinder applied to the sidewall of the tire body.

Upon completion of the grinding, the inner rubber layer 4 of the tire body 1 is exposed between the annular collars 8 and 9 defining the annular groove 10. The exposed surface of the inner rubber layer 4 is somewhat rough as a result of grinding. The degree of roughness of the exposed surface of the inner rubber layer is variable depending upon the grain size of the grind stone used, so that, by properly selecting the grain size, a smooth surface of the inner rubber layer can be obtained. However, in order to obtain a satisfactory bond between the inner rubber layer and the undercoating layer and the fluorescent layer to be described later, and to preclude possible loading of the grinding surface of the grinder, it is rather preferable that the exposed surface of the inner rubber layer is not completely smooth.

On the interior surface of the annular groove 10 is then formed the undercoating layer 11 by applying thereto an anchoring agent consisting of a graft polymer, and thereafter a fluorescent paint is applied on the surface of said undercoating layer to form a fluorescent layer 12. The undercoating layer 11 plays an important role in preventing the fluorescent layer 12 from detaching from the surface of the annular groove 10 and, therefore, is preferably formed of an adhesive compound of branched structure, such as chloroprene graft polymer, so that said layer may be capable of following the flexion of the tire during running in particular. This undercoating layer 11 is required to be transparent so as not to impair the color-developing function of the inner rubber layer 4 of the tire. The undercoating layer 11 also serves to keep the fluorescent layer 12 fresh by protecting it against the deleterious affect of the inner rubber layer.

The anchoring agent to be used for the formation of the undercoating layer 11 may be a mixture of 100 parts of natural rubber, 30 parts of methyl methacrylate and 500 parts of toluene, or a solution prepared by mixing 20 parts of methyl methacrylate, 20 parts of vinyl acetate monomer andSOO parts of toluene with 100 parts of chloroprene rubber with stirring at 80 C. for about 8 hours to carry out graft polymerization and dissolving the polymerization product in 500 parts of methyl ethyl ketone.

The fluorescent paint to be used for the formation of the fluorescent layer 12 is a mixture of a composition A and a composition B at the proportion of 1 1, said composition A consisting of a mixture of 100 parts of chlorosulfonated polyethylene (Hypaln" 020 or 040 of Du Pont Company) as a base, 4 parts of magnesium oxide as a vulcanizer, 50 parts of Rhodamine B as a fluorescent pigment, 0.5 part of Tinuvin- P" (the trade name of a product of Geigy Company in Switzerland) as an ultraviolet-ray-absorbing compound and 1,000 parts of toluene as a solvent; and said composition 8 consisting of a mixture of 3 to parts of terdin modified thermoplastic phenol resin (Durez RP 1045 of Durez Plastics 8t Chemicals Inc. or Light Resin" TR 12,603 of Sumitomo Durezu K.K.) of low viscosity as an adhesive, 10 to 15 parts of epoxy resin (Epon" 0828 of Shell Chemical Company or Adekaresin EP 4,000 of Asahi Denka l(.l(.), 1 part of 2- mercaptoimidazoline powder (Na-22 of Sumitomo Kagaku KK.) as an accelerator and parts of toluene as a solvent.

The composition B of the fluorescent paint, which is primarily composed of adhesive, bonds fastly to the undercoating layer to prevent the fluorescent layer from detaching therefrom. The operation of applying the fluorescent paint in the annular groove 10 is carried out easily in a neat manner with no spreading of the paint over the adjacent area, owing to the presence of the annular collars 8 and 9. In addition, the fluorescent paint applied on the ground surface of the inner rubber layer, which has previously been coated with the undercoating layer, produces a firm bond. It is also to be noted that the annular collars 8 and 9 serve as a cushion to attenuate an external force which otherwise would be imposed directly on the fluorescent layer.

The fluorescent pigment in the composition A is preferably used in an amount from 30 to 50 parts. The use of the fluorescent pigment in an amount not more than 30 parts will result in insufficient fluorescence, whereas the use of the same in an amount not less than 50 parts will result in less content of the paint base and therefore is undesirable, although a better fluorescence can be obtained. As the fluorescent pigment, F ZA 2003 (red), 2,005 (orange) and 2,005 (lemon yellow) of Sinloihi Company may also be used.

The Tinuvin-P used as an ultraviolet-ray-absorbing compound effective absorbs ultraviolet rays and prevents the fading of the fluorescent pigment when used in an amount of about 0.5 to 1 part. The use of the compound in an amount more than specified above will give an adverse affect on the fluorescent pigment and therefore is undesirable.

The fluorescent paint of the composition described above, when applied on the surface of the undercoating layer 11, is cured slowly at room temperature as a result of cross linking reaction therebetween and fastly bonded to said surface in 3 to 5 days, forming the fluorescent layer 12.

The fluorescent layer 12 thus formed in further superposed by a top-coating layer 13. This top-coating layer 13, alike the undercoating layer 11, is required to be transparent and is provided primarily for the purpose of preventing the fading of the fluorescent pigment by ultraviolet rays and improving the weather resistance of said fluorescent pigment. The top-coating layer 13 is also required to be capable of protecting the fluorescent layer 12 against dirt and to withstand washing with water so that dirt attached to the surface thereof can be simply removed by water washing. As described previously, the fluorescent layer 12 contains the ultraviolet-ray-absorbing compound therein but the amount of such compound is limited in consideration of its adverse affect on the fluorescent pigment. In this view, the provision of the top coating layer is effective to further lessen the fading of the fluorescent pigment by ultraviolet rays.

The top-coating layer 13 is formed of a mixture of a composition a and a composition b at the proportion of l l said composition a consisting of a mixture of 100 parts of Hypalon" 4 parts of magnesium oxide and 1.5 parts of Tinnvin-P" diluted about 10 times with xylene, and said composition I) consisting of a mixture of 1 part of 2 -mercaptoimidazoline, 5 parts of phenolic adhesive and 15 parts of epoxy-type adhesive, diluted about 10 times with xylene.

Now, a method of forming a plurality of fluorescent color bands on each sidewall of the tire body will be explained with reference to FIGS. 5 to 9. According to this method, the annular projection 6 on each sidewall is ground with a grinder 7' having two annular grooves 14, 14 formed in the peripheral surface thereof, whereby three annular grooves 10 are formed in said annular projection 6 as shown in FIG. 7. Then, an undercoating layer 11' a fluorescent layer 12 and a topcoating layer 13 are formed in each of the annular grooves 10 in the same manner as described previously. The grinder to be used for the formation of the annular grooves may be composed of three thin grind stones 7" each having a thickness of 1.5 to 3 mm, arrangedin juxtaposed relation with a spacer interposed between adjacent ones in the manner shown in FIG. 9. Obviously, the number and the width of each of the annular grooves 14 should be determined in accordance with the number and the width of the fluorescent color bands desired.

Referring to FIGS. 10 and 11, there is shown a device used for the formation of the undercoating layers, the fluorescent layers or the top-coating layers in the respective grooves 10' When the device is to be used for the formation, for example, of the fluorescent layers, a fluorescent paint or paints, contained in respective tanks 16, 16' and 16", are discharged into respective conduits 19, 19' and 19" by the pressure of compressed air which is supplied through a three-way valve 17 and has had the pressure thereof regulated by respective reduction valves 18, 18 and 18', and thereafter injected into the respective annular grooves 10 in a suitable amount through respective injection nozzles 20, 20 and 20". By the use of the device described, it is possible to inject fluorescent paints of different colors into a plurality of annular grooves in each sidewall of the tire body all at once.

Described and illustrated hereinabove is the method by which a fluorescent paint or paints are injected in the respective grooves after said grooves have been formed in the annular projection on the exterior surface of the tire body. This method is adapted for use with a bicycle tires having a relatively thin wall thickness. However, where the side wall portions are substantially flat as in the case of automobile tires, the annular groove 10 may be formed by grinding said sidewall portion directly.

According to the present invention in which, as described above, a single or a plurality of annular grooves are formed in the exterior surface, particularly in the sidewalls, of a tire body by a grinder and then a fluorescent paint is applied in the groove or grooves, a fluorescent color band or bands can be formed more uniformly than by the conventional methods, in an efficient and neat manner. Further, the fluorescent color band or bands thus formed will not be detached easily from the tire body due to the strong bond between the rubber layer of the tire body and the fluorescent paint. According to the conventional methods, a fluorescent layer must comprise a color-developing layer to promote the color-developing effect of said fluorescent layer and an ultraviolet-ray absorbing layer to enhance the luminous effect of said color-developing layer as well as to prevent fading of said color-developing layer by ultraviolet rays. However, according to the method of this invention, the tire body is constructed with an abrasion-resistant outer rubber layer and a color-developing inner rubber layer integral with said outer layer, and a fluorescent paint contain ing an ultraviolet-ray-absorbing compound is applied on the surface of said inner rubber layer exposed in a single or a plurality of annular grooves formed in the sidewalls of the tire rubber, is interposed between the fluorescent paint layer and the exposed surface of the inner rubber layer of the tire body, intrusion of a vulcanizer such as sulfur, contained in the tire body, into the fluorescent paint layer can be prevented, whereby the fluorescent paint layer can be retained fresh over a long period of time. It is also to be noted that, since the undercoating layer of a graft polymer has a suitable elasticity, it is capable of following the flexion of the tire body during running and this is also advantageous in preventing the delamination of the fluorescent paint layer from the tire body.

lclaim: l. A method of producing a tire having at least one fluorescent band on a sidewall of the tire body, comprising forming a tire body composed of an outer rubber layer and an inner rubber layer integrally bonded to said outer rubber layer, said inner rubber layer being generally white in color and its surface presenting a different color than said outer layer, forming at least one annular groove in the sidewall of the tire body by grinding a portion of said outer rubber layer to expose a corresponding portion of said inner rubber layer, applying an elastic undercoating layer consisting of a transparent anchoring agent onto said exposed portion of said inner rubber layer, and superposing a fluorescent paint containing an ultraviolet-ray-absorbing compound on said undercoating layer, whereby at least one fluorescent color band is formed on the sidewall of the tire.

2. A method of producing a tire having at least one fluorescent band on a sidewall of the tirebody, comprising forming a tire body composed of an outer rubber layer and an inner rubber layer integrally bonded to said outer rubber layer, said inner rubber layer being generally white in color and its surface presenting a different color than said outer layer, forming at least one annular groove in the sidewall of the tire body by grinding a portion of said outer rubber layer to expose a corresponding portion of said inner rubber layer, applying an elastic undercoating layer consisting of a transparent anchoring agent onto said exposed portion of said inner rubber layer, superposing a fluorescent paint on said undercoating layer, and further superposing a transparent top coating layer containing an ultraviolet-ray-absorbing compound over said fluorescent paint, whereby at least one fluorescent color band is formed on the sidewall of the tire. 

2. A method of producing a tire having at least one fluorescent band oN a sidewall of the tirebody, comprising forming a tire body composed of an outer rubber layer and an inner rubber layer integrally bonded to said outer rubber layer, said inner rubber layer being generally white in color and its surface presenting a different color than said outer layer, forming at least one annular groove in the sidewall of the tire body by grinding a portion of said outer rubber layer to expose a corresponding portion of said inner rubber layer, applying an elastic undercoating layer consisting of a transparent anchoring agent onto said exposed portion of said inner rubber layer, superposing a fluorescent paint on said undercoating layer, and further superposing a transparent top-coating layer containing an ultraviolet-ray-absorbing compound over said fluorescent paint, whereby at least one fluorescent color band is formed on the sidewall of the tire. 